A Comparative Study of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells Utilizing a Double-Layer Anti-Reflection Coating on the Front Side

Abstract

This study aims to improve the efficiency of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells by applying a double-layer anti-reflection coating (DLARC) to their front side, addressing the limitations of single-layer coatings in reducing reflectance across a broad spectrum of wavelengths. Investigation is done on how this coating, aimed at increasing light absorption, contributes to optimizing the optical and electrical properties of SHJ cells. Additionally, the impact of different deposition quality layers is explored using atomic layer deposition, specifically HfO2/Al2O3/SnO2, on SHJ solar cells with varying thicknesses. Using the OPAL 2 simulation tool, the material thicknesses are optimized and the findings are validated through experimental results. Experimental results demonstrate that optimizing the thickness of DLARC markedly enhances efficiency, achieving ≈22.16% with a 50 nm thickness of Al2O3 and an improvement of 0.79 mA cm−2. This study offers a comparative analysis of materials used in anti-reflection coatings to boost the efficiency of SHJ solar cells, thereby contributing to the advancement of high-efficiency photovoltaic technology.